A Troll in Central Park: Musical Hell Review #55

There's a troll. He's in Central Park. A whole lot of nothing ensues.
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[@ArloTheSilver]

The only thing I appreciate about this movie is the fact that Gus doesn’t hate his sister. Any other movie would’ve had Gus be annoyed and despise his baby sister because she’s little and she’s a girl and blah blah blah. But Gus does love his little sister and does his best to protect her. I always loved their relationship and I wish more big sibling characters actually cared about their siblings without ending up dead

[@johnvinals7423]

Probably would have hit better if Rosie had an actual personality.

[@PhoenixRising87]

@@johnvinals7423 She's, like...two. She's just starting to develop one. I second that it's good that her big brother loves her.

[@Naharu.]

@@johnvinals7423 tbf, kids these age dont really have one. At best they have a favourite toy and movie

[@johnvinals7423]

@@PhoenixRising87 With that I agree. Especially compared to what a manipulative Nice Guy creep Hubie is in “Pebble and the Penguin”.

[@orangeslash1667]

soɔǝʇıdolɐɹʇsn∀ The problem is Thumbelina, troll, Pebble and the penguin we’re all made at the same time. Meaning that Don Bluth didn’t Have enough time to fix them.

[@johnvinals7423]

Someone really should write a fanfic dealing with the fallout of what Stanley did to New York in the ending.

[@argonaut640]

"The one who did this to our beloved city...he is known only by one name: The Troll In Central Park."

[@rainylupin]

Make it about a teenage or adult Gus, as well as a grown up and toughened Rosie, battling against the plants that have consumed the city, finding survivors and using Gus' thumb to bring inanimate objects to life to fight for them.

[@MrWill9002]

agreed

[@vadifadoms]

Rainy Meadows That sound 10x more interesting than the legit movie.

[@OfficeSpace2909]

Excellent idea. That would be way more interesting than this sorry excuse of an animated musical.

[@fallingroses4279]

Would the ending be better if this happened instead: Gus an Rosie turn around and see that Stanley is gone. They walk back to their parents and as they walk, they notice that there are more leaves growing on the trees while the parents are oblivious to what's happening. Meanwhile, Stanley is sitting on a tree, making Central Park (and Central Park only) green again.

[@MusicalHell]

That sounds...kind of sweet, actually. I like that idea.

[@Flowerbarrel]

My mom rented this for me when I was little. I either didn’t finish it before she took it back or forgot what happened and I thought it ended with Stanley still a statue. That was the first time I kinda liked a bad “ending”.

[@KidSnivy69]

Erik Valtierrez I know Diva is a demon, but even that seems like a cruel and unusual punishment.

[@artemisfowldragon]

and then they get hit by a bus

[@sesfilmsllc]

The movie would still suck. Minus the “ending”.

[@MrShoebox21]

Poor Don Bluth. This was a man who gave us The Great Owl, T-rexes way scarier than ANYTHING Jurassic Park ever came up with, and con-artists rats in a deconstruction of the American West with a cast of furries...and he gave us THIS. A Mid-life crisis is never pretty. Oh, and Titan A.E. That one wasn't TOO bad.

[@andrewollmann304]

Fievel Goes West wasn’t Bluth’s, but American Tail was.

[@phoenixrage1]

And borrowing from Disney aside, Anastasia was awesome. It's my favorite animated film.

[@ryanc5572]

I've always loved Titan AE.

[@rachael1090]

Titan AE is a personal favorite. We also have a severe lack of 2D animated sci-fi

[@retrofan4963]

Titan AE is a really cool film. But to me, An American Tail is my favorite.

[@Bobsheaux]

Oh my lord... I just thought of something horrible... Consider the fact that trolls have very limited knowledge of human beings, i.e. the hen-pecked king calling humans "creatures more troll-like than us." Also consider the standard body type for your average troll; short and chubby, the same descriptors that you would find in any human infant. Does Stanley's over-the-top reaction to Rosie kissing him come from his misinterpretation that she's actually a beautiful troll?? O_o

[@kieranstark7213]

Dude, you saw my comment and requested ElectricDragon505 to review the rest of the Don Bluth films he has not reviewed yet, eh?

[@Tornado1994]

So Stanley is attracted to Rosie because he thinks she's a Girl troll and doesn't realize she's a toddler? And yet he kisses her! Must be a Bobsheaux!

[@MovieFan1912]

@@Tornado1994 (Microsoft TADAAAA!)

[@AWasteOfYourTime8205]

Hi Bobby 👋

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

So Stanley brings the apocalypse at the end... apparently Gnorga was Good All Along. Who knew?

[@timothymclean]

"I told you that anyone who makes sentient plants and turns people into bushes is too dangerous to let live, but nobody believed me! Well, who's laughing now, you bastards?"

[@phousefilms]

She wanted to turn him to stone and mainly just hung out in the Troll Kingdom, not bothering anyone but other trolls. That doesn't sound that evil to me.

[@timothymclean]

Aside from the bit where she wants to turn people to stone.

[@nykerianash1590]

Timothy McLean Still let’s evil then Stanley

[@WolfRider2002]

Perhaps the King knew that Stanley would do this, making the King the true mastermind villain of this movie

[@theancientpyramhynx9679]

That tricycle scene is actually really funny when you take it out of context

[@elsie8757]

Oh come on, the kids' dad looks almost exactly like Dimitri from Don Bluth's Anastasia!

[@elsie8757]

***** Her face is more Thumbelina, I think.

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

That was bothering me, right down to I think the clip they used was the same animation used in a scene in Anastasia. Man that would be depressing if Don Bluth had to lift aspects of Troll in Central Park for his last good movie.

[@elsie8757]

Tyler Bioshock R Wait, did this movie come BEFORE Anastasia? That makes it even weirder!

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

Elsie Not Giving You My Last Name Yeah, Don Bluth after Land Before Time is a very very strange thing.

[@ejl423]

Consider the source.

[@Dalia1784]

Fun fact: Gus is voiced by Phillip Glasser, the original voice actor of Fievel from An American Tail.

[@zackrules4797]

Dom DeLuise was also in An American Tail, for the doing the voice of Tiger (which we can all agree it's a way better Don Bluth film then this!)

[@argonaut640]

Gus and Rosie: They're important because they are also the main characters. I also love how the ending is New York turning into an overgrown wasteland that seems more fitting for a Post-Apocalyptic video game.

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

Yep, so it was Stanley that created the Fallout universe... I see....

[@arbiterskiss6692]

All we need is one dry summer, one spark, and it will go up like Atlanta, Georgia in 1864, London in 1666, and Rome in 64 AD.

[@carissacarlson1418]

Great review. 7:17 To be fair, I think Rosie is meant to be a very young toddler (like a year old) since she tends to babble a lot and can only walk, so her being a bit clueless and stupid does make sense. I don't have any kids of my own, so I could be way off in that assumption. Then again, this is the reason why babies are hard to make compelling characters. They have little personality or agency, making them more of a plot device or something cute to distract the audience. Usually, I find that either making them older (like 10 or something) or going the Rugrats direction and making them have some intelligence works better. Also, Stanley having that reaction to a toddler pecking him on the nose is creepy as hell. (shutters)

[@grainneorgracequinn2888]

Carissa Carlson I think you're right either 1 or 2 at least

[@daneiltherat2327]

Carissa Carlson jack jack is a good baby character. As he's meant have the unlimited potential of a baby

[@timothymclean]

Jack-Jack is also not really a character in his own right. He doesn't have any motivations or real agency; he just kind of sits around, then Syndrome takes him, and then he happens to Syndrome. (And there's a reason Rosie is the only one of this movie's main trio who doesn't get a Musical Hell punishment. Aside from watching her big brother's birthday clowns.)

[@wastelandlegocheem]

Episode 790: A predator in central park

[@KidSnivy69]

Timothy McLean The second movie fixes a lot of that.

[@Stephen-Fox]

I know it wouldn't have actually saved the film (Since... There's a lot of saving this film requires), but... If ever a story could have withstood, even benefited from, a bittersweet ending, it's this one - instead of giving the brat a magic thumb and him and his troll destroying NYC together... End it with the kids finding the statue. The Snowman (and 30 years later, the sequel The Snowman and the Snowdog), and how they've become staples in the British Christmas canon of short animation, beloved by both adults and children, proves that you can give children things that don't have entirely 100% happy endings and that if you handle them correctly that isn't going to be a problem (The trick is to handle them deftly, of course). Hell, use the fact that the boy's a complete brat as part of the narrative drive; imply he was going to turn into a troll, while adding onto lore that this is how most trolls come into being, and the change of heart from complete brat to protective older brother (which... I think is the arc they were going for?), so there's something that happens in the kids lives that wouldn't have happened without meeting Stanley (namely, the brother, in protecting the sister via a path of self growth, averts his path of becoming a troll) to give actual stakes that aren't essentially the fault of the Troll King not knowing about the existence of parks... There'd still be structural problems but you up the stakes that aren't indirectly the protagonist's fault, add a physical aspect to a character arc which can be useful visual shorthand, remove the oddity of the brat turning back into a kid at the end by making it thematically appropriate (Especially if the transformation is completed earlier by an act of self sacrifice rather than random curse), and by having Stanley permanently statuized there's still a cost to the adventure... ...The extra scenes to handle the extra emphasis on the boy's character growth of such a complete rewrite such would have necessitated, including both extending the body horror for kids stuff and the necessary exposition to communicate that lore would likely force the removal of some of work's filler, too, helping structurally...

[@ViridianForests]

That would have made this interesting, entertaining and probably something I would've loved as a kid (shapeshifting of any kind was something I found beyond cool as a kid, and if well done, I still like even these days). This was, unfortunately, not what we got XD

[@KrugerBabadook]

i feel that this movie would need a complete overhaul to make it good, so here is what i would do: a very little girl is playing in central park purposely kicking up the grass and tears up a flower bed causing her parents to punish her by forcing her to sit on a bench until she genuinely apologizes for the damage or it is time to leave, an old gardener named Gus comes over to tell her about how important the flowers are, as they create memories and can be important to peoples' lives, and the magic they hold, tell her his story of central park. when Gus was a teenager, he was terrible person with not many good friends due to the death of his mother, he runs off in the middle of the night to wander central park, when he was little his mother took him there to have fun. on one of these nights, he comes across a troll, he is scared of it and runs away in fear until he sprains his leg. the troll reaches him and creates wood and vines in order to create an impromptu splint, and he realizes the troll is the reason plants grow there and begins to come out during the night to help the troll preserve the beauty of central park, slowly becoming a better person as the troll shows him motherly love, creating a bond between the two, similar to Gus and his mother. at one point the troll is killed by some guy trashing the park, Gus begins to weep over the loss of his friend and mother figure, he holds her hand and a glow travels from her hand to his, before her body fades into the ground. over the next couple of months central park slowly dies, he begins to remember his mother and the troll, remembering his happy memories of them as he picks a wilting petunia, and it begins to perk up, so he decides to try to take care of the park and becomes a gardener for the park. the movie ends returning to modern day, the little girl understands the importance of central park and genuinely apologizes for the damage she caused her parents hearing this let her off the bench, and Gus begins to take care of the damaged flowers as a soft glow comes from his hands and the flowers are good as new. The End.

[@dogryme6]

*kids start floating away on balloons* "Are these kids too young to qualify for a darwin award? Asking for a friend." That made me laugh.

[@connortripp99]

Kid with a boat + balloons = (insert Stephen King jokes here)

[@cfanimate7303]

What's so particularly painful about the brilliantly dubbed Dork Age of Don Bluth movies is that they're executed so beautifully. The stories are practically first drafts and they're dopey and incoherent and doomed to fail, but the animation and effects used to tell them are fantastic. This wasn't one of those reviews I could just listen to while working because of that. It's particularly painful because it's so hard to get not only stable competition for Disney animation, but different storytelling styles. Even the best Don Bluth movies kind of "wander" a little and aren't as focused as a Disney-type movie would be, and it's not necessarily a bad thing.

[@celestialVocalist]

I feel like if they had just been given more time to make the writing of movies like Thumbelina and this movie better, we would've gotten much better movies. It really is a shame for a great animator and film maker like Don Bluth go from making great films to making such bad ones. Though thankfully Anastasia was a great movie.

[@eoghanfeighery7383]

I say the Pebble and the Penguin is polarizing only because.....why give penguins TEETH?!

[@orangeslash1667]

Eoghan Feighery MGM came in and made a lot of changes.

[@ThomasFan-vd3uz]

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s character development! We don’t know that much about the characters, only their personalities, Thumbelina and The Pebble and The Penguin tried to show us their characters development by showing them the problems they had to face in order for them to be better characters. This movie just gives us characters singing, dancing, complaining, and do nothing to advance the plot or help us learn more about them.

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

So I guess you can say this movie _trolled_ you

[@WobblesandBean]

The little red haired girl from across the street I can hardly Stanley it. The film isn't all wine and Rosie.

[@c_s_fox_1695]

The little red haired girl from across the street Oh God, enough with the puns already! lol

[@DeepEye1994]

At least the movie starring you is a good film to show kids, little red haired girl from across the street.

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

DeepEye1994 Thanks

[@Spameggssausage]

whoooooooooooo are you, who who who who

[@sophiaageitos4154]

I don't think Thumbelina was as bad as Troll in Central Park

[@KrazyKelor]

Because it wasn't. It was a weak wannabe Disney Princess knockoff, but it wasn't_this_.

[@ejl423]

Exactly, as many problems as Thumbelina had, at least it wanted to try to tell a decent story rather than insult the audience's intelligence.

[@CatHermit]

Sophia Ageitos AT least Thumbelina didn't have Gus in it I hate that kid.

[@JorgensZelda]

Hexxus and his buttery Tim Curry voice?

[@thomashuffman3237]

Sophia Ageitos Yeah, even though it suffered many story issues, too many characters (ESPECIALLY JACQUIMO!!), and some pretty bad songs,Thumbelina at least tried to tell a good story, had nice animation, and some decent voice acting. A Troll in Central Park, on the other hand, was just a big half assed mess that clearly no one put any thought or effort into.

[@mickeyperkins]

Don Bluth’s animation is so beautiful. Why did he have to use it for evil?

[@tylerfish2701]

"Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made". -J.R.R. Tolkien

[@EternalYorkieMom]

I was today years old when I recognized Diva was on Jeopardy!! She definitely swept the musical category!! I actually looked and she won twice! Good for her!

[@ArtisticQuinn3095]

Are you sure?

[@Bobsheaux]

Good point in bringing up the dancing flower sequence from Fantasia, suggesting that dancing flowers don't HAVE to be pointless filler. HOWEVER... the giant baby sucking on her bottle directly behind them pretty much kills any artistic merit it might have; it's JUST here to shut up your kids. And since said giant baby is also the flowers' audience, anyone in the audience who's any degree older is just going to feel embarrassed or insulted to be here. Why, Mr. Bluth? Why?...

[@patrickshields5251]

Because he rushed production. That's why.

[@eoghanfeighery7383]

THANK YOU! Rosie's reaction to it just undermines anything redeemable with the dancing flowers.

[@Pinka13]

I literally just realized that "Llort" is *troll* spelled backwards -_-

[@faithhill5886]

Suddenly, I'm reminded of Troll 2 after learning that. "Nilbog! It's goblin spelled backwards!"

[@PhoenixAlaris93]

So this is what happened after he got his ass kicked in Zelda's Adventure on CD-i.

[@MovieFan1912]

(Facepalm)

[@SaintCharlos]

4:08 _I believe Llort secretly didn't want to punish Stanley at all (He was good and kind, unlike his wife), and thus, he wanted the flowery troll to live a better life._

[@metademetra]

Congratulations! You thought about this more than the entire Sullivan Bluth team!

[@andysee6996]

If I had the ability to rewrite A Troll in Central Park from scratch, it would be made clear that it was an intentional Batman Gambit on Llort's part since he knew way more about the human world than Gnorga did.

[@rzum81]

Would have made more sense to put Stanley somewhere like the North Pole where plants like flowers can’t grow because it’s so cold.

[@MusicalHell]

This movie would have been a lot better if it had been eighty minutes of Stanley on an ice floe. And then he gets eaten by a polar bear.

[@rzum81]

Musical Hell haha yes!

[@ninavale.]

I think Rosie is this oblivious because she's 2 years old at the most...I mean she talks very little and in a very simple way like the words we hear from her are her name, her brother's name and small greetings like 'Hi'. and I think that Don Blueth tried to make her a realistic child her age(for cuteness) so she doesn't do very much or show much intelligence. Though inadvertently he made the housemaid and the parents really scary people because who the heck just leaves a two year old unattended like this? Seriously this is a development stage where you still have some gates and barriers around your house and you lock the front doors and windows so the kid won't waddle away or fall out

[@EsmeAmelia]

How this movie ever got greenlit (and by Don Bluth of all people) is a mystery that will forever remain unsolved.

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

You know not a day goes by that I am not amused that they snuck in quite a few Disney cameos into Enchanted. Its awesome as hell to have Jodi Benson, Judy Kuhn, and Belle herself Paige O'Hara in live action. Just saying, it was a nice touch.

[@DerekPower]

O hai Tyler ;) =]

[@billybarnett9518]

I feel like this movie had potential, just tone down the main character, and give us a reason to dislike the villain, and don't make the kids brats.

[@masterfarr8265]

you could make Stanley someone who wants to be evil but keeps messing up till he gets banished for his failure. He tries making Venus flytraps he ends making flowers. I'd also change the design to look less vomit inducing.

[@HenshinHeroesMedia]

Would be cool to see stanley look like a villain but you're cut off guard by his sweet nature attitude. Then, give him a moment where his monsterous tendencies like monster rage rise when he thinks he lost his child friends. Then the kids stop him similar to how the kid from the iron giant stopped said title character

[@1andonlyzara]

Give the Nutcracker scene from Fantasia some credit! At least that movie wasn’t SUPPOSED to have a story!

[@dunes8817]

You'd think his "green thumb" would come up a lot sooner and that he'd bump into the troll authorities a whole lot sooner considering how his powers work.

[@WobblesandBean]

Dunes8 And for that matter, where did he come from? Did his parents know? What does he even DO, anyway? Do trolls even have jobs?

[@supermariof0521]

I just thought of a hilarious Robot Chicken spoof called "An Internet Troll in Central Park".

[@tracyallen9170]

Where can I find that spoof? It sounds funny.

[@slashermaster28]

@@tracyallen9170 I know it's really late to respond to this, but that's not an actual Robot Chicken sketch. I think Fire was just pointing out that something like that would be perfect for Robot Chicken.

[@supermariof0521]

@@slashermaster28 Thanks for noticing, and yes I still think it would make for a hilarious "RC" sketch, or maybe even a KZbin Poop.

[@lizzychrome7630]

And this is why when someone says something online that is too obnoxious to warrant a real response, I say, "I've seen better trolls in Central Park."

[@tazzreviews1578]

If they wanted to send Stanley to a place where he couldn’t grow flowers, why not send him to Antarctica or an abandoned oil rig?

[@jaschabull2365]

Would you really want him to end up in a sequel/prequel to The Pebble And The Penguin?

[@tazzreviews1578]

Well, shit. That never came across my mind.

[@Justanotheruselessaccount]

Because stupid does what stupid does

[@alexmeyer5260]

At least Dom DeLuise was also in a good Don Bluth movie: The Secret Of NIMH.

[@TheBranMan100]

And the Land Before Time

[@bored_person]

Unfortunately, he played the worst character in that movie.

[@alexmeyer5260]

ijfharvey In The Secert Of NIMH? I thought Jeremy was a funny character in that movie.

[@bored_person]

Alex Meyer I didn't, but whatever.

[@TheBranMan100]

ultraofrahfan1 Yeah. I forgot, at first I thought he was talking about actual good Don Bluth movies well its because I wasn't even looking... Again, I truly apologize.

[@colleen4ever]

8:30- God, movie, ya couldn't just make Stanley blush or something?

[@alexanderfix3629]

According to the website and books, one is only eligible for a Darwin Award if they are an adult (the usual cutoff age is 16) who should be capable of making sound decisions. So Gus and Rosie are ineligible. Still doesn't stop me from wanting to smack the whining little brat for his general attitude and endangering his sister. Rosie, I'll forgive since she looks about one or two years old, but not Gus. Who pretty much got rewarded for demanding attention from his father, and was never punished for sneaking out, taking his sister to a place where they could have easily been kidnapped or injured, and getting them involved with dangerous supernatural creatures.

[@tracyallen9170]

I agree. That's disappointing that the father didn't punish his son for sneaking out. Gus is an example of how NOT to create a kid hero.

[@SaraHouck461]

tracy allen Man...it's no wonder having to handle frequent babysitterstuckness should've been an absolute blessing for me instead of a curse like I often made it out to be, regardless of how often I was bullied by other kids who had to be babysat at that same residence!

[@KaeMcSpadden]

This movie looks like something a five year old came up with.

[@redpillfreedom6692]

Which is giving it more credit than it deserves. Even 5 year olds would probably find this boring

[@marystone1526]

Gnorga on a Tricycle dressed like a Valkyrie was the best part, hands down. Two petrifying thumbs up.

[@laurahugillofficial]

Is it just me or do Gus and Rosie’s parents look like Dimitri and Anastasia from the movie Anastasia?

[@retrofan4963]

And to think this film came before Anastasia.

[@candycane1744]

More like thumbelina and the prince

[@SailorMoonFriends]

Cale Tucker from Titan After Earth also looks like Dimitri except with blonde hair

[@Nightman221k]

I choked on the water I was drinking laughing when you said, "Is there any way this could be more disturbing?" and followed it with Gustave's orgasming, "YES!!!" from the shitty Phantom sequel.

[@newbiegamelover4767]

9:20 Hey, hey, hey! Guys? The girl you're trying to cheer up? She's right behind you! You're suppose to *face* the audience you're performing for, not turn away from them!

[@foreverdead1248]

Woah it's proto-Dimitri. Never really figured out where the Anastasia/Titan AE style came from because it seems to differ so much from the animal based films, but now I can see where it got going

[@jeremyusreevu237]

The Don Bluth films reviewed on this show (Except for Rock A Doodle) are living proof that just because a film has good animation doesn't mean that it's actually good.

[@Indigodelta383]

Great Scot! I've seen Care Bears less sugary than this

[@isobelmiller7464]

In the words of PhantomStrider: "I saw this movie when I was seven, FREAKING SEVEN, and found it too sappy, and I still liked Care Bears!"

[@abigailloggins5844]

Aww she did not touch on I'M A BAD TROLL

[@MrNico494]

Abigail Loggins I think it speaks for itself

[@thomashuffman3237]

Abigail Loggins Yeah, she should have put that on the sin count, since that would qualify as asinine dialogue.

[@LaDracul]

This is not like Will Ferrell as James Lipton said, "Like God looking upon you and saying 'You are my greatest creation'"...more like, "Like God looking upon you and saying 'I hate you'".

[@harmonetheanimationaddict4419]

At least the animation is the usual Don Bluth quality, so you gotta give the animators some credit.

[@mixwidman5458]

The last song of this film should be called “don’t feed the plants”.

[@timothymclean]

7:54: And if they have that kind of reaction to a character of their own gender, the audience is divided into gay-shippers, no-homo-ers, and people who are sick of the shipping wars and want to just talk about the plot or themes or whatever.

[@doctoquack7829]

Random request. Tom and Jerry The Movie. Yes it is a musical.

[@Mochitachi70]

I feel like Diva should have done a bait-and-switch joke on her Superman musical review, due to the HBO incident where they uploaded The Snyder Cut instead of the new T&M movie.

[@shadow_raven1983]

I think the shot of Stanley at 9:27 sums up this entire movie, especially his facial expression.

[@SariaSchala]

Based on Nostalgia Critic's review of this film, I figure the only character who got any development was the father who realized he should try to spend some time with his son, and we didn't get to see any of that...

[@isobelmiller7464]

The Dancing Flowers scene was apparently the movie's Big-Lipped Alligator Moment. Big-Lipped Alligator Moments are essentially entertaining filler, so if you're going to have one, make sure you can still fit in all the scenes that are necessary for plot advancement and character development. I've heard Ed, Edd n' Eddy's Big Picture Show was going to have a scene where the Eds drink expired gravy, which causes them to have a claymation fever dream. However, there wasn't enough time for it, so they did the reasonable thing and scrapped it. It wouldn't really be smart to keep that scene and remove the scene where Eddy confesses that he's been lying about his brother and admits why he's such a jerk, now, would it? The "Pink Elephants" scene from Dumbo, while one of the most memorable parts of the movie, really didn't do anything for the overall plot of the movie. It didn't forward the story, it didn't develop any of the characters, it was just there, and then it was gone. However, at the very least, it didn't get in the way of the scenes that WERE important to the plot. All the pieces were there even with that one pointless scene. Sadly, this movie was not as competent as these.

[@jaschabull2365]

To be fair, while the hallucinations themselves don't do much in Dumbo, they technically occur during Dumbo's first ever flight (which he inadvertently embarks on whilst drunk as a lord), so at least it kind of advanced the plot, if semi-indirectly.

[@isobelmiller7464]

@@jaschabull2365 Well, it's been years since I've seen the movie. Also, get this: I spent Spring Break at my grandfather's house, and there were a bunch of children's books in the childhood rooms of my mom and her siblings, and I found a book version of Dumbo, which replaced the "Pink Elephants" scene with Dumbo going to sleep and dreaming a happy dream about being the star of the circus. I guess I can understand why they did that. I mean, it was a book for children, while the movie is for all ages.

[@nifralo2752]

Dumbo dosent really have a narrative like Pinochio it's very episodic

[@isobelmiller7464]

@@nifralo2752 It's still a continuing story.

[@KFrost-fx7dt]

The story is about parental neglect. Gus is sucking his thumb at the end as the parents barely give a frick that their children ran away, nearly died and returned traumatized. Breaks my heart.

[@dubitataugustinus]

I watched this film in VHS when I was very, VERY young. The Bluth style attracted me, since I had seen better movies of his (when I was even tinier, I was happily traumatized by Secret of Nimh and An American Tail). Because I was a little spooky kid, I was so so excited to see the beginning of this film, with so much dark and gritty pseudo-gothic imagery. I was like "Ooh, I wonder what horrors we'll see on this one!." Aaaaaand then Gnorga started singing. Aaaaaand the next 90% of the film it's a disgustingly cutesy lullaby for babies. I knew at 8 that I was watching an ATROCIOUS and CRINGY mess. I felt intense anger and disappointment and barely understood why. It is THAT bad.

[@rainbow.fr0g]

“I wanna do what I wanna do” what’s with the dialog in this movie? Edit:does anyone else think the dad look like Dimitri from Anastasia.

[@kittylover62]

Maybe it was the Don Bluth animation or something, but this was one of my favorite movies as a kid. Looking back on it now, WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!?!?!?

[@davidspring4003]

Stanley’s abilities being vaguely defined basically mean this universe operates on “Soft magic” rules. Basically, magic can do whatever the author wants because...it’s magic. We don’t have to explain it. The only problem is that this sort of magic only works when it’s in the background of the story and used sparingly. Like Chronicles of Narnia (Where the rules are STILL better explained than here) or Lord of the Rings (Not sure if it applies to the Silmarillion, but Gandalf basically only uses his power against the Balrog throughout the series and we see...hints...of it otherwise.)

[@nifralo2752]

So would Harry Potter be hard magic then as it has hard rules and limitations

[@sewthernbelle]

Be careful Diva. Don Bluth's death glare is the stuff of legends...just ask the Nostalgia Critic...lol

[@joyunicycle]

It may scare that mortal, but can it scare a demon?

[@garchomplord5081]

joyunicycle it could scare a god

[@andysmith5806]

I mean, Ponyo made a boat grow. Though, I guess that makes more sense because she’s a magic fish girl whose dad is ginger Liam Neeson and boats have to do with water.

[@colleen4ever]

7:09- Well, to be fair I think Rosie is only 2 or 3 at the most, so it's pretty normal for her to make mistakes like that. She doesn't know any better.

[@Shades14]

Why does the dad look almost exactly like Dimitri from Anastasia?

[@Flowerbarrel]

Dimitri's descendant? The pieces fall into place.

[@joyunicycle]

Dimitri cheated on his family for a princess.

[@CaffeineDeprivation]

So THAT'S why he never has time to take Gus to the park...

[@Frisby2007]

The Shady Reviewer jokes aside, it was actually the same animator AS Dimitri before Anastasia came out.

[@credinzel6996]

The Shady Reviewer And why does Dimitri look like Cale?

[@phousefilms]

13:04, I think you mean Adele Dazeem. Lmao, just the pause and "On a fucking tricycle." made be break down crying laughing.

[@elchanchopato9601]

"I don't know, what do YOU want to do? I know, let's sing and dance like dummies!" - Numbuh 4, describing this movie in a nutshell

[@daliborjovanovic510]

Producer: Mr. Deluise? Would you perchance be interested to take a role in our animated- DeLuise: Yes. Producer: ....um...I didn't say which animated- DeLuise: You had me at "animated". I'm in. Producer: ....okay then?

[@MrNico494]

16:38 Ok seriously, how is it that the parents don’t question the destruction of the park / area at all? They must have visited the park at least once in their life to be able to see the drastic change.

[@EssexAggiegrad2011]

"There's no such thing as trolls" You can tell this was before the internet

[@patrickb125]

May I remind you that Enchanted came out 15 years after this movie?

[@patrickb125]

Can you review Hannah Montana: The Movie?

[@MusicalHell]

I'm aware of that; I wasn't trying to imply this movie was copying off Enchanted (or vice versa) but to note how the two movies told very similar stories, only one did it a lot better.

[@tatehildyard5332]

What did you think of La La Land BTW? Like t enough to possibly enough to give it a highlight on Know the Score?

[@patrickb125]

I get it now, and my other question?

[@MusicalHell]

It's possible--I haven't thought of that one in a long time!

[@haileybalmer9722]

I feel like Don Bluth and Company were being pressured at the time to kind of cut back on the scary stuff and focus more on appealing to kids my age. As a second grader who had long since and many times sat through Land Before Time and All Dogs Go To Heaven, I did not care to be pandered to. I abandoned Thumbelina part of the way through to go do homework instead, and I didn't even bother with A Troll in Central Park. I remember exclaiming "oh BARF" at the trailer.

[@kvc431]

I really think that this would’ve been something happily remembered if it was a half an hour special on Nick Jr. it really feels like something that was made for the under five crowd.

[@morgangobin6550]

I think you could have given a much more severe punishment to Stanley. How about...a porcupine that grows out of his anus and then transforms into a T-Rex that devours him. ;) It's NC approved!

[@SaraHouck461]

5:54 Man, it's no wonder having to spend time at a daycare should've been an absolute blessing instead of a curse like I often made it out to be because of how often I was bullied by other kids who had to share the facility!

[@brandyloutherback9288]

Hi, Troll in Central Park, Snow White called and told you to get on with the plot!

[@timothymclean]

The animation isn't _bad,_ but I don't think it's up to Bluth par. The backgrounds are great, but everything else looks kinda flat, and sometimes it looks like things that _should_ be touching and interacting _aren't._

[@diegobareno5820]

Gus was voiced by Phillip Glasser who was Fievel in the original American Tail. He had to be like 16 when this came out.

[@dunes8817]

Love how the dad ends up kinda looking like the stock Bluth male protagonist.

[@Inlelendri]

Dunes8 It gets even better when you consider how mismatched the dad (and mom) then looks compared to the kids. The styles don’t match up at all and while that can work, it’s jarring when it’s supposed to be their kids.

[@tristanclose5803]

Great review! I remember seeing this when I was about 5 or 6, and I remember very distinctly how uncomfortable it made me feel.

[@lilliedoubleyou3865]

Hooray! I'd been wondering where those *Spaceballs* clips had gone to.

[@CaptainPeregrin]

I imagine somebody noticed the horrifying implications of the ending, but they hated Stanley (or the movie) so much by then that they chose not to tell Bluth that Stanley caused the apocalypse.

[@AWasteOfYourTime8205]

7:21 I think is waaaaaaay more disturbing 💀💀💀

[@grainneorgracequinn2888]

I just realised the ending is technically dark😐

[@madcapmakov2]

So Stanley caused the floral/fungal apocalypse in The Last Of Us.

[@MrsJohnsonListing]

I happen to have fond memories of all the Bluth films you've dragged :p I actually liked Rockadoodle, Thumbelina, Pebble and the Penguin, and Troll in Central Park. I haven't seen any of them in years, of course. But what I remember of them, I loved

[@crimsondynamo615]

King Llort is the true villain because he let that eco terrorist Stanley lose, had he kept his mouth shut and let his wife do his thing, New York wouldn’t be covered in a giant forest that’s sure to make the humans look like the spore carriers from Vault 22

[@josephrowe849]

A bratty young boy with a sister named Rosie? Where have I heard that before? 🤔

[@Remythechef]

You made me love enchanted all over again with this

[@MusicalHell]

My work here is done.

[@Meggsie]

I feel like he was in an artistic rut and tried to force through it instead of taking a short hiatus. It happens to the best of us

[@connorbrennan4233]

The more I think about it, the more I believe that one of the reasons Don Bluth's career declined at this point was his choice in material. From Disney, we were getting movies about epic fairytales, genies, sorcerers, lion kings, beasts who learn to love, and an adaptation of one of the darkest novels in human history. From Don Bluth, we were getting...movies about goofy farm animals, an overly happy troll that loves flowers, and singing penguins. Yeah...

[@jasonsiscos2788]

9:25 I think the nostalgia critic is right this is a parody of a kid’s movie.

[@Bobsheaux]

Does Don Bluth do commentaries? We REALLY need to know what the mentality was behind this movie...

[@beethovensfidelio]

Bobsheaux He did one for the Anastasia DVD.

[@mintstarmari]

They should have made multiple story drafts before starting the animation. I mean, there was more potential to this film. If Stanley was less hyperactive, the kids weren’t bratty and learned about the importance of their parents’s hard work and he only grew flowers in convenient places instead of covering the entire city... It’s like baking a cake but mistakenly putting a whole bag of sugar in the mix then bringing it to the cake shop instead of trying again.

[@marksalmoneussorcerersupreme]

Watches Flowers dancing. ME: OH MY GOD DO SOMETHING IMPORTANT!

[@reyfan011]

I first watched this when I was in kindergarten and yeah I didn’t pay attention to how bad the movie was. But one thing that always stuck with me about this movie was the villain song. Gnorga’s queen of mean song is kinda catchy to me.

[@emac94]

As a child of two working parents I can appreciate the frustration with having said parents push things off over and over. I remember my mom promising to take me to see a movie I really wanted to see to the following week so many times that by the time she actually was available said movie was not in theaters anymore. It can be a real pain when you want to go out and do something when you are so young you are completely reliant on your parents and said parents become too busy at the last minute. But it’s still annoying to watch a kid bitch and moan for x amount of time

[@joshuariddensdale2126]

That's the only thing I can relate to in this movie. I myself had parents who both worked full-time. In fact, my dad was putting in five 10-hour days at one point. His only days off were the weekends. My mom had to work the night shift two nights a week, so things I wanted to do often had to be put off. My dad's paycheck quite literally kept us in our home, so my mom actually quoted the mom in this film almost word for word. "Your father works very hard to make sure we have a home to live in. You need to learn to be grateful for that, and understand that things can't revolve around you".

[@Oscar95451]

This movie is written by J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, the writer of All Dogs go to Heaven, Rock-A-Doodle, Shrek 2, the Rugrats movies and The Smurfs live-action movies. Both were Don Bluth screenwriters, until the day that Don Bluth Studios was bought by News Corporation (20th Century Fox), relocated in Phoenix, Arizona and rebranded as Fox Animation Studios. Stem and Weiss become freelance, starting with The Rugrats Movie.

[@MSTe98]

Man, you're writing is sharp as a spit! Especially loved the Age of Aquarius reference.

[@PeachBoba1523]

I think Gnorga and the Troll King should have been punished for being TERRIBLE VILLIANS, preferably training under The Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend. Oh, and by the way, if they really wanted to get rid of Stanley, they should have sent him to the Arctic.

[@the-nina-beans88]

Wait. In that song that shows trolls like stanly... What the heck happened to them? Why isn’t he living with those trolls instead of the school yard bully trolls. Unless those trolls were stoned or killed of... Why couldn’t the movie be about stanly seeking help to restore his people instead of teaching 2 kids under the age of 7 to care for the environment?

[@ultrafox4005]

I had a feeling you would point out how this ending was like the bad ending to Little Shop Of Horrors.

[@hypnojon32]

I wanted to say, I've bee watching your stuff before bed the last couple of nights and have officially become a fan. You're very funny. My fave parts here: Riding the f***ing tricycle... and your Enchanted parallel. An you are absolutely right! Interesting add ons: A lot of Enchanted musical numbers are in...Central Park! And here's an interestng question... so who...cribbed off who??

[@harrietamidala1691]

The shot of Jeremy turning the queen's underling's feet into stone always freaked me out as a kid.

[@harrietamidala1691]

my mistake.